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Por Rocío Muñoz-Ledo y Kit Maher, CNN en Español

El presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, recibió este jueves en la Casa Blanca al presidente de El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, uno de sus aliados más cercanos en América Latina, en una reunión que volvió a poner de relieve la estrecha cooperación entre ambos gobiernos en materia migratoria y de seguridad.

El encuentro se celebró a puerta cerrada y la Casa Blanca apenas ofreció detalles sobre la conversación. Antes de la reunión, un funcionario dijo a CNN que ambos mandatarios discutirían “sus esfuerzos compartidos para combatir la inmigración ilegal, fomentar el crecimiento económico y garantizar la seguridad regional”.

Se trata de la segunda visita de Bukele al Despacho Oval desde el regreso de Trump. La primera ocurrió en abril de 2025, apenas tres meses después del inicio del segundo mandato del presidente estadounidense, en medio de la puesta en marcha de un polémico acuerdo migratorio que convirtió a El Salvador en una pieza clave de la estrategia de deportaciones del Gobierno de Trump.

En el marco de ese acuerdo, Washington envió a cientos de hombres deportados desde Estados Unidos —la mayoría venezolanos, señalados por las autoridades como presuntos integrantes de organizaciones criminales— al Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT). La prisión, que se ha convertido en el principal símbolo de la política de seguridad de Bukele, ha sido ampliamente criticada por organismos nacionales e internacionales debido a las denuncias de violaciones a los derechos humanos.

La visita también estuvo marcada por la controversia generada por el caso de Kilmar Armando Abrego García, un inmigrante salvadoreño que fue deportado por error desde Estados Unidos y trasladado al CECOT.

Trump ha elogiado varias veces a Bukele. En febrero de este año, durante el Desayuno Nacional de Oración ante líderes extranjeros, el presidente estadounidense lo llamó “una de mis personas favoritas” y lo describió como “un gran aliado”.

Durante su discurso, Trump también se refirió a las cárceles de El Salvador, y afirmó que Bukele “administra cárceles bastante grandes… y hacen un trabajo muy humano, pero son cárceles muy duras”.

Exdetenidos del Cecot declararon a CNN que durante meses en la megaprisión fueron golpeados por guardias penitenciarios, recibieron disparos con perdigones, se les privó de atención médica adecuada y que se les negó el debido proceso.

Desde ese polémico acuerdo, la relación entre ambos gobiernos se ha mantenido estrecha. Bukele también participó en marzo en la cumbre Escudo de las Américas, realizada en Doral, Florida, junto al mandatario estadounidense y otros líderes de derecha de la región.

La visita de este jueves se produjo, además, días después de que la militancia del partido de Bukele, Nuevas Ideas, lo designó como candidato presidencial para buscar un nuevo mandato, luego de que una reciente reforma eliminara las restricciones a la reelección presidencial, abriéndole la puerta a un tercer período consecutivo.

Desde que declaró un régimen de excepción en 2022, Bukele ha convertido la seguridad en el eje de su gobierno. Su estrategia de detenciones masivas contra las pandillas ha reducido drásticamente los índices de homicidios y le ha permitido mantener altos niveles de popularidad dentro de El Salvador.

Al mismo tiempo, organismos nacionales e internacionales han advertido sobre el deterioro del Estado de derecho, las denuncias de detenciones arbitrarias y las restricciones al debido proceso.

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By Brenda Goodman, Deidre McPhillips, CNN

(CNN) — Shredded iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms and sold at some Taco Bell restaurants has been linked to a multistate outbreak of cyclosporiasis, a source familiar with the investigation said Thursday.

Cases of the intestinal illness caused by a microscopic parasite are surging across the US, with nearly 7,000 cases confirmed or under investigation since May 1, according to data published Tuesday by the CDC. Confirmed cases alone are more than six times higher than they were at this time last year, and there have been at least 141 hospitalizations.

The outbreak linked to the lettuce, however, is considered to be a regional one, centered in the Midwest.

The CDC has identified at least 400 cases associated with the outbreak across four states: Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky. These cases are among people who reported symptoms on or after June 22, the agency said in an update Tuesday.

The Michigan state health department has reported more than 4,300 cases of cyclospora during the outbreak investigation. Michigan said it has interviewed more than 1,000 people as part of its investigation and had previously noted that lettuce or salad greens may be a potential source for the outbreak.

Cyclosporiasis is not usually spread directly from person to person. Instead, people can become infected by consuming contaminated food or water. Previous outbreaks have been linked to fresh produce, the CDC says.

People with cyclosporiasis may have symptoms that include watery diarrhea, cramping and bloating for weeks.

Federal health officials said there are multiple investigations underway, some tied to the large outbreak in the Midwest, some involving single states and some involving cases not yet tied to any cluster.

Taylor Farms supplies grocery stores and restaurants across the country, although it’s unclear exactly how many of its products and which locations may be affected. The company has not yet responded to CNN’s request for comment Thursday.

Taco Bell said Tuesday that it was removing some ingredients from its menu at some restaurant locations as a precaution.

“While authorities continue their broader review, Taco Bell has voluntarily and temporarily removed limited ingredients at select restaurants as a precautionary measure,” Taco Bell Corp. said in a statement. “We will continue to closely monitor the situation and follow the guidance of public health authorities.”

Taylor Farms produce has also been linked with previous illness outbreaks, including E. coli cases tied to slivered onions in 2024 and cyclospora cases linked with lettuce in 2013.

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The AI notetaker has quietly become a coworker. One in 3 employed Americans (33.4%) say an AI notetaker or transcription bot, tools like Otter.ai, Fireflies, Zoom AI Companion, or Microsoft Copilot, has been present in their work meetings, according to a July 2026 survey of 500 employed U.S. adults commissioned by Kolmogorov Law and conducted through the Pollfish research platform. Another 22.4% can’t say whether they’ve been recorded or not, which is its own kind of finding.

Recording First, Asking Later

What hasn’t become routine is asking. Among the 167 workers whose meetings have included an AI notetaker, only 34.7% say they were always asked for permission before the tool recorded or transcribed. More than a third (36.5%) were asked only sometimes, 25.1% were never asked and simply saw the bot appear in the meeting, and 3.6% learned about the recording only afterward. Put together, 65.3% of exposed workers say consent was inconsistent or absent.

The consent problem isn’t limited to AI notetakers. Nearly 1 in 5 of all workers surveyed (18.8%) say they have discovered after the fact that a meeting or call had been recorded or transcribed without their knowledge, and 8% say it has happened more than once.

The issue is already reaching the courts. A federal class action against Otter.ai alleges that meetings were recorded and transcribed without the consent of all participants in violation of California privacy law. Otter.ai denies the allegations, and the case remains pending.

The 65% Knowledge Gap

Most workers have no idea that rules exist. According to the Kolmogorov Law survey, some states, including California, require every participant’s consent before a conversation may be recorded; only 35% of workers said they already knew. Nearly 42% (41.8%) said they had no idea recording laws applied to work meetings at all, 11.6% believed one participant’s consent was enough everywhere, and another 11.6% weren’t sure. Sixty-five percent of the American workforce say they lack awareness of the consent requirements that can determine whether AI meeting recordings comply with applicable laws. This knowledge gap mirrors, almost exactly, the 64.4% of workers who don’t know that pasting confidential data into a personal chatbot can be illegal.

Ignorance of the law, however, does not translate into indifference once workers imagine the recording happening to them. Asked what they would do upon discovering that a company had repeatedly recorded their calls or meetings without consent, 29.2% would complain to the company or HR, 9.6% would stop attending, and only 14.2% would do nothing. The number that should concentrate minds in any general counsel’s office: 19% would speak with a lawyer and a further 10% would join a class action if one existed, so a combined 29% of the workforce describes a secret recording as a lawyer-up event. For companies operating across multiple sta

An employee finally decides to ask for help. Maybe their work has slowed. Maybe they have been missing sleep. Maybe they have been holding it together for months and can feel that changing.

For an HR or benefits leader, that moment matters. The first experience an employee has with a mental health benefit can determine whether they get routed to the right care, wait too long, disengage, or start over later.

That is why a mental health assessment deserves more attention than it often gets in vendor evaluations. It is more than a questionnaire. Done well, it is the clinical and operational front door to the entire mental health journey, Spring Health reports.

Key takeaways

• A mental health assessment should connect employees to the right level of care, not just collect symptoms.
• Strong mental health assessment tools use validated screeners, dynamic branching, safety protocols, and ongoing measurement.
• For HR and benefits leaders, the most important question is what happens after the assessment: matching, navigation, care planning, and outcomes reporting.
• Well-executed assessments can reduce trial and error, help employees start care faster, and provide employers with aggregate insight into program performance.

What is a mental health assessment?

A mental health assessment is a structured way to understand a person’s symptoms, goals, functioning, preferences, and level of need. It may include self-reported questions, validated screening tools, clinical interviews, or ongoing symptom measures used during care.

In a workplace mental health benefit, the assessment has a practical job: to help each employee find the right next step. That next step may be therapy, coaching, medication management, self-guided support, specialty care, crisis support, social-needs resources, or help from a trained navigator.

A strong assessment does not ask questions for their own sake. It uses the answers to guide care.

Why mental health assessments matter for employers

Employers are not responsible for diagnosing employees. They can be responsible for offering a benefit that identifies needs safely, route employees appropriately, and show whether the program is working.

That makes assessment quality a business issue as well as a clinical one. A weak assessment can create friction at the exact moment someone is ready to act. A stronger assessment can reduce trial and error, improve the first match, flag risk earlier, and measure progress over time.

For benefits leaders, the question is not only whether a vendor offers a mental health assessment online. The better question is what happens after someone completes it.

What mental health assessment questions should cover

Assessment questions for mental health sh